Death toll in Mexico fireworks blast rises to 16

Men carry a coffin during a funeral procession in the town of Jesus Tepactepec, Mexico, Sunday, March 17, 2013. A mass funeral was held for 13 of the 16 victims of a gruesome fireworks explosion during a religious procession on Friday. A total of about 154 were injured when a rocket malfunctioned and landed on the truck, igniting the fireworks it carried. (AP Photo/J. Guadalupe Perez)
— AP

Men carry a coffin during a funeral procession in the town of Jesus Tepactepec, Mexico, Sunday, March 17, 2013. A mass funeral was held for 13 of the 16 victims of a gruesome fireworks explosion during a religious procession on Friday. A total of about 154 were injured when a rocket malfunctioned and landed on the truck, igniting the fireworks it carried. (AP Photo/J. Guadalupe Perez)
/ AP

MEXICO CITY 
The death toll in a gruesome fireworks explosion during a religious procession in Mexico rose to 16 after three more people died of their injuries.

Hundreds of mourners gathered Sunday for a mass funeral for the first 13 victims of the blast, which occurred on Friday in Jesus Tepactepec, a village of about 1,000 people 70 miles (112 kilometers) east of Mexico City.

The 13 wooden coffins were carried through the streets of the village to a local gymnasium for a Mass attended by the local bishop and the governor of the central state of Tlaxcala, where the village is located.

The state government said in a press statement that 16 people in total were killed and 80 remain hospitalized; about 70 others injured in the blast were treated and released.

The massive blast occurred after a rocket malfunctioned and landed on a truck, igniting the fireworks it carried. Some of the victims may have also been carrying bundles of fireworks.

Residents told local media about finding bits of human remains blown into their yards, trees and patios by the blast.

The victims were marching in an annual procession in honor of Jesus Christ, the patron of Jesus Tepactepec.